Abstract
We investigated the critical factors for decision to the type of leg brace in hemiplegic patients (N = 53, mean age of 62.1 years).
The results were as follows.
1) The patients who had been prescribed with the long leg brace were classified in the severe (Brunnstrom stage Ⅰ・Ⅱ) and moderate paretic (Brunnstrom stage Ⅲ・Ⅳ) groups, and they showed weak muscular strength of the sound side and poor performance of dynamic sitting balance.
2) The patients prescribed with the short leg brace indicated moderate paresis, high muscular strength of the sound side and good performance of dynamic sitting balance.
3) Although it was difficult to predict in early phase whether the patient would be able to change from the long leg brace to the short leg brace or not in the recovery process, the present study suggests that the improvement of muscular strength of the sound side may be one of the important factors.
